Friday, February 24, 2017

'Halwa- Poori- Channa' is usually the festival prashad( offering) that is prepared on special pooja/ festival days in North India. During Navratra time, this combination is made on the Ashtami Pooja day. Having lived here for more than a decade and a half, we at home love this combo. Kala Channa (Dark garbanzo beans ) are soaked over night , then boiled and tempered with minimum spices. I make it regularly for breakfast and pack it for tiffin box too.

Unlike the Rava Kesari that is made using sugar, this halwa is made using jaggery. It hardly takes 10 minutes to prepare this dessert . Roasting the sooji in advance and storing it , saves a lot of time. This recipe is Vegan and literally oil free.

Sooji Ka Halwa:

Preparation time : 5 minutes

Cooking time : 10-15 minutes

Serves : 4

1 cup = 250 ml cup

Ingredients :

1 cup sooji/cream of wheat ( dry roasted till fragrant )

1 cup jaggery ( powdered)

3 cups water ( approximately, will vary according to the variety of sooji used)

pinch of cardamom ( freshly powdered)

For garnish :

Dry roasted dry fruits ( of your choice, if not Vegan, you can roast them in ghee also )

Method :

1. Roast ( with or without ghee) the dry fruits for garnish and set them aside.

Chef tip : Roasting them in ghee adds flavour.

2.Heat water in the kadai and add the jaggery.

3. Once the jaggery melts completely, filter the jaggery water for any impurities.

4. Place the kadai with the jaggery water on medium flame and when the mixture becomes warm, add the sooji little by little and keep stirring continuously, so that there are no lumps.